Lead, Don't Rescue Part 5: How Leaders Create Growth, Not Dependence by Wes Mast

How to shift from being the answer to building people who can find the answer.

Have you ever felt that if you got asked 1 more question, your brain would melt?

Leadership isn’t just about doing things right.
It’s about developing people who can make decisions to do the right things—even when you’re not in the room.

That’s why one of the hardest (but most important) shifts a leader can make is moving from being the answer to building people who find the answer.

But that’s not always what we do.
In fact, without realizing it, we often create cultures of dependence instead of growth.

Let’s take a look at two red flags:

1. Your Team Reaches Out to You When a Call Needs to be Made

You delegate—but somehow the decisions still bounce back to you.

• “I hit this roadblock, what should I do?”
  
  
• “I think this is ready to go, I am just waiting for your approval”
  
  
• “Do you think this looks okay?”
  
  

If your team defers to you every time a decision needs to be made, it’s not always about their capacity—it might be about the culture.

Sometimes, we’ve unknowingly trained our people to ask instead of act.

💡 Leadership Shift:
Trade control for clarity.

When people know exactly what they own, and what the win looks like, they gain confidence to make the call. That starts with leaders:

• Defining ownership clearly.
  
  
• Communicating expectations.
  
  
• Trusting people enough to let them run with it.
  
  
• Normalizing failure and learning from the process.

If you want a team that takes initiative, you have to stop stepping in every time.

2. You’re Drained, but They’re Not Growing

You’re exhausted. Overwhelmed. Carrying the weight.
But when you look at your team…they’re stagnant. Still unsure. Still passive.

Here’s the hard truth: If you’re always stepping in, they never have to step up.

You may be doing good work, but you’re also stealing the reps your team needs to grow stronger.

💡 Leadership Shift:
Give them room to rise—even if they stumble.

Real leadership development is messy. It’s slower. It takes coaching, not control.

But the reward is a team that doesn’t just need you—they’re becoming their own kind of leader.

Empowerment isn’t about letting go and walking away.
It’s about walking with people while letting them carry the weight.

Let Go to Level Up

Here’s a simple litmus test:
If you stepped away for a week… what would rise, and what would fall?

If the honest answer reveals some dependence—it’s okay. That’s your opportunity. Start building the kind of team that grows with you…not around you.

 Because when you stop being the hero, and start growing people?
That’s when real leadership begins.

🎯Do you find yourself tempted to rescue more than lead? We’d love to show you more about what we do at LevelUp2Lead. Find out about our Next Level Leadership Academy and Membership here: https://www.levelup2lead.com/membership

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🔥 Up Next:

Blog 6: Lead, Don’t Rescue – A New Kind of Leader
Be the kind of leader who multiplies—not just manages—and how to step boldly into that role.